Random photos 2

I love taking random photos in Lima, because the city is so full of surprises, particularly in the use of colors, shapes, and juxtapositions.

The photos of Precolumbian figures (below) were taken at the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. The stone masks were displayed in a case that was reflecting the pillars and floors of the museum, which made them look like they were floating in mid air.

Nat'l Ceviche Day

Yesterday was National Ceviche Day in Peru. Now, ceviche is one of our favorite lunch dishes. It consists of raw fish or seafood that is marinated in lime juice with onions and aji (hot pepper). The acid "cooks" the fish, so that it has a light but firm texture. Ceviche is also served with a variety of other sauces that may involve olive oil, squid ink, or mayonaise.

Lima has some of the best ceviche around, because of the availability of very fresh fish. Locals will only eat ceviche for lunch, and most cevicherias are only open until 4-5 in the afternoon. After that, the fish is no longer considered to be fresh enough.

Most of the best ceviche comes from very small restaurants along the beach or in the less fancy neighborhoods of Lima. It's also frequently available during the upbiquitous festivals around town, when they set up food stalls, tables, and chairs - often accompanied by live music.

You can also get delicious ceviche in some of the tonier restaurants, particularly along one street here in Lima that runs parallel to the ocean and is called La Mar ("mar" or sea is masculin in Spanish, but the street is named for a military leader named La Mar). There is a restaurant called La Mar, which is one of our favorites. It is one of a number of great restaurants founded and run by Gaston Acurio, the guy who is largely responsible for putting Peruvian food on the world gastronic map. Another favorite is called Pescado Capitales, a play on words with the term for mortal sins.

For National Ceviche Day, we headed to the pier in Chorillos, a beachside neighborhood on the southern side of Lima, where food stands and a big stage had been erected for the celebration.






Scale at the ceviche stand - making it a fish scale...







Boats in Chorillos

Mural by the fisherman's cooperative

Ceviche food stand, with musicians and bicyclists

Lunch at La Mar, boatload of causitas (potatoes mashed, rolled and stuffed with various fish mixtures, yum) and ceviche

Multiple varieties of ceviche in various sauces

Pachacamac

Pachacamac is an enormous complex of temples, pyramids, and other buildings that were built over the course of many years and several Precolumbian civilizations (200-1500 AD). Most of the structures are made of adobe bricks, layered like books on a shelf. The later parts, which were built by the Incas, are made of stones carefully fitted together in the characteristic Inca fashion.

Pachacamac contained an oracle and was considered to be a vastly important religious center, attracting pilgrams from across the central and coastal Andes. It was looted by the Spaniards, and after their conquest of Peru, lost its power and influence.

The site today is located just south of Lima on the Pacific coast. It is situated in the desert but next to a green valley formed by the Lurin River. There is a modern town called Lurin that is next to the archeological site, offering an interesting contrast of old and new.

Pachacamac originally covered several square miles. Today, it is still a vast site. Much of it remains unexcavated and just resembles big hills and mounds. But there are multiple large structures that have been at least partially uncovered and restored. They include a building that housed sacred women priestesses, several pyramids that were thought to serve as administrative palaces, and some temples. There is a huge Temple of the Sun, built by the Incas, which faces the see and was used for sacrifices and other ceremonies. It's supposed to be associated with the one that appears in the Tintin books. I'll have to double-check.

Unfortunately, Pachacamac is not terribly photogenic. Much of it is blocked off to visitors, so you can't even get close to the few places where there are remains of frescoes and designs. Mainly, you just get an impression of the scale of the place and its layout. Pretty impressive, nonetheless.

Temple of the Sun.

They placed mummies of priests and leaders in the niches for official ceremonies.

Village of Lurin seen from Pachacamac ruins.

Temple for sacred women (priestesses). The only men allowed inside were eunochs.

El Carro

The big news here is automotive.

After 4 1/2 months of delays, our car was finally released from customs and delivered to our apartment building. It then took another several weeks to get the licence plates, which were delivered yesterday. We had an official placing of the plates ceremony in the garage. Addison thought that called for proper pomp and attire.

Note: the umbrella was in the car. Thank goodness. We only packed SEVEN of them when we moved here to a place where it never rains.

Of course, the car's battery is dead, so we can't actually drive it. But we can look at it and admire the shiny red diplomatic plates.

Ooooh.

winter

Today is the first day of winter here in Peru.

What does that mean? Well, the days are a bit shorter, though we are close enough to the equator that the variance is not enormous. The weather is cooler - generally in the 60s. And it's definitely more gray. Whole days go by without our seeing the sun. Then, once in a while, the thick clouds will clear and we'll get blue skies. It's also more humid, with a sort of mist hanging in the air. It makes the weather seem cooler than it really is. Things made of wicker tend to get moldy and the closets are musty.

One of the more visible signs of winter is the way the locals dress their dogs in plaid polartec sweaters. Pretty goofy. People also start to don their winter coats; in some cases this means down jackets - for 60 degree days.

Because it never freezes, the plants and flowers remain happy and healthy (so long as there's someone to water them). The hydrangeas and bougainvillias are spectacular. The poinsettias and other plants that we think of as small indoor things turn into full-size trees.

Here are photos, and here's wishing everyone a happy solstice, be it summer or winter for you.

Another Sunday in Lima

As noted in earlier blogs, Sunday is a great day to be out and about in Lima. There's much less vehicular traffic. The streets are more calm. Yet, shops and restaurants stay open, people are out wandering and having late, long lunches with family. It's lively and in many ways a way to see Lima at it's best.

Having out-of-town visitors is also a great excuse to go wandering and exploring in Lima. My brother is visiting currently. Sunday, we meandered through the old colonial center of Lima, charming in its own shabby and formerly glorious way. Until recently, this section of the city was considered to be quite seedy and dangerous. But much has been done to clean it up and make it more attractive to locals and visitors alike. There are pedestrian streets, a very visible police presence, and numerous festivities on a fairly regular basis. The Plaza del Armas, the city's central square, features the cathedral, the presidential palace, and lots of parades or events, including a daily changing of the guard at noon.

Behind the presidential palace is an esplanade, which runs along the right bank of the Rimac River. This esplanade seems to constantly feature some sort of gastronic festivity, artisanal exhibit, or other activity. Sure enough, last Sunday, there were food stands, places to buy local products, and a stage with a (not very interesting) mime performance. There is a large pedestrian bridge across the river, which leads to a neighborhood of Lima called Rimac. This is where the bullfighting ring is located. It also features a nice, broad pedestrian street that leads from the bridge for several blocks to a church. The street is lined with cheap shops, mainly featuring pirated movies and CDs. Now, Rimac is considered to be a very tough neighborhood. It doesn't show up in your typical guidebook - nor even the ones directed at your off-the-beaten-path type of traveler. We've never ventured beyond the first few blocks of the central pedestrian street. What was interesting yesterday was that the locals were fairly insistent that we should not go beyond the bridge or into the Rimac neighborhood. And they became more insistent as we went along, even though there were all sorts of people out and about. So we took their advice and turned back.

Then we made our way to another new area - Lima's Chinatown. This area has a Chinese gate and lots of Chifas (Chinese restaurants). Peru has a sizable Chinese population, dating from the 19th century when Chinese workers were brought in to work on the railroads. However, the Chinese presence in Chinatown seemed to be mostly limited to shop signs and restaurants.

We eventually made our way past Lima's central market. Here there is a sign that says the markets maximum capacity is 4,400 people. Do you suppose they close the doors at 4,399? Who's counting anyway?

Finally, we crossed a big avenue to a park, where a big crowd had gathered to watch a Michael Jackson-wannabe strut his stuff. There was a big build up to his act, but he had only barely gotten started when his sound system seemed to fail. We didn't stick around to see the rest.




Turning around in Rimac. It looked safe enough, but the locals were pretty insistent that we go no further. "Turn back ye who enter here".







Central Lima.





















Chinatown gate. The neighborhood is busy and bustling, but most of the people look Peruvian rather than Chinese.







The Michael Jackson wannabe.

DC Photo show

Valerie spent 10 days back in the States recently. Her visit involved lots of friends and a small show of some of her Peru photos. The second would never have happened without the first.

Thanks to all who came, bought, and brought all sorts of love and support. Here's a special plug, too, for a wonderful DC institution, the Corner Store (find info on all the great activities at: cornerstorearts.org).

Here's the photo album:

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